Hope
by MidnightEden234
Summary: Yugi, always cheerful and always hopeful... or so everyone thought. The bullies never knew what a tragic life Yugi had at home and never suspected that someone so weak could have feelings. They hurt him, teased him and broke him, until they unleashed his darkest secrets. Dark Puzzle/Blindshipping fic! First attempt at a lemon-ish story. I hope you like it! (Super dark!)
1. He Awakens

**Warning: Contains violence, possible character deaths and Shōnen ai (Boy love). Not recommended for those younger than the age of fourteen.**

**Pairing: ****遊戯 ****& ****アテム ****(Atem and Yugi) Blindshipping.**

**All those that have a problem with this pairing, you have four options. One, see that lovely red X in the top right corner? Yeah, click it. Two, face my wrath. Three, face my friend's wrath (you know who you are!) Four, go to hell and Season Zero Yami will be there to torture your soul!**

**As for everyone else, please enjoy! ^_^**

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He was an odd boy, the kind that you'd usually find eating lunch outside alone under a tree, or maybe he'd be studying while the jocks and bullies devised a plan to steal away his lunch money. He was sixteen and short for his age, which might have been another reason that no one ever dared to offer him a look, a smile or even a chance at friendship.

He was always alone. The girls ignored him, the boys hated him and the teachers just didn't give a shit.

However, that boy always wore a smile, stood up straight and did what he thought was right. He was the kind of person who would make the perfect friend, if only someone gave him a chance. Everyone needs a friend because no one and absolutely no one can stand being alone forever.

No matter how the world saw that little boy, no one could tell how he felt on the inside, no one but the shadows and darkness that lived there.

Yugi Muto sat on his bed staring down at his math homework that lay in front of him. His text book was opened halfway and resting on page three hundred and thirty three and three hundred and thirty four while his pencil, in dire need of sharpening, lay forgotten on the half used piece of paper.

Right now, Yugi couldn't have cared less about his stupid homework. Right now, the small boy was crying enough tears to fill a river. Delicate, twinkling orbs rolled down the young teen's cheeks and landed onto the blue bed sheets below with a soft little _thud._ Yugi's entire body shook and trembled as memories of school events washed over his mind.

_Idiot,_ they called him,_ lonely, stupid, undersized, squat, dreadful, rotten, irritating, _and worst of all,_ a poor excuse for a human being!_

Those were just names though, Yugi could handle that, but there was something else that was really bothering him. Something that was way worse than anything he had ever gotten in his entire life.

Earlier that day, Yugi had been going through his regular school routine. After second period ended he went to his locker then went outside for lunch. He sat under his usual tree, ate an apple, a sandwich and had just started drinking his juice when Jounouchi had walked over.

'_Hey, you're Yugi Muto, right?'_

'_MmmHmm…' Yugi mumbled to the tall blond from behind his juice box._

_Jounouchi took another step forward and gave the little boy a tender smile. 'Can I sit with you,' he asked._

_Yugi's heart had been overwhelmed with joy. He shuffled to the side and allowed the blond to sit next to him. 'Umm…' he said awkwardly, 'I… I'm sorry, but I don't know your name.'_

'_I'm Jounouchi,' he answered. 'It's nice to meet ya' Yugi. I've seen you sitting down here every day for the past few years, but you were always alone. So, I thought that you might have wanted some company.'_

_The conversation continued on slowly, but it gave a nice calm feeling to Yugi. He finally had someone to talk to, someone to be his friend. But then the rain came and with it also came Ushio._

'_Tell me Jounouchi, what are you doing over here with this lame kid,' he asked in a gruff voice._

'_He's not lame,' Jounouchi stood up, 'Yugi's not bad. The entire school lies about him!'_

'_What a loud of shit! That boy has never had any friends and he never will, so leave now!'_

_Yugi's heart sank._

_He watched as Jounouchi took a step forward and landed a blow in Ushio's gut. There was a brief moment of silence before Jounouchi was hit too._

'_Jounouchi,' Yugi screamed, 'Don't worry about me! You can leave me alone and let Ushio hurt me instead. I don't want you to get hurt!'_

_But then, instead of leaving and instead of fighting, Jounouchi had started laughing. He spun around to face Yugi with a deep and merciless smirk. Then to add to Yugi's shock, Ushio handed Jounouchi a raw egg._

'_Wh- What are you doing,' Yugi questioned._

'_Gosh, you're so stupid,' Ushio muttered._

'_Yugi,' Jounouchi said to catch the younger's attention. 'Allow me to educate you. You're nothing but a stupid, irritating, little idiot! You're not welcome at this school and never will be!'_

_In a flash of white, the egg landed in Yugi's face and knocked him backwards into the tree. His nose bled, his upper lip was swollen and the back of his head gained a nasty bump._

And now, as Yugi sat on his bed, the laughter of everyone in the school remaining clear as day in his head, he couldn't help but to believe what everyone had been calling him since he was first born, a _freak._

Yugi grabbed his math book and threw it to the floor with rage. His usual soft eyes filled to the brim with rough hatred. Yugi's nails dug into his bed sheets as he proceeded to scream angrily allowing his voice to fill the otherwise silent house.

"It's okay, it is okay," Yugi repeated to himself as he rocked back and forth on his bed. "Tomorrow is Friday, and then it's the weekend. After that I just need to survive three more days and I can leave that terrible school for the entire summer. It's o-"

"_**It's not okay."**_

"Huh," Yugi squawked. He jumped up from his bed and landed onto the carpet. Yugi took a few steps back, looked around the room then repeated his actions until he convinced himself that he was simply hearing things.

* * *

That night Yugi ate dinner without a word to his parents. They didn't care at all; in fact they hadn't even noticed Yugi was there until his fork met his plate with a little _clank_. Yugi stood up from the table, picked up his plate and placed it in the sink, finally causing his father's cruel brown eyes to narrow in on him.

"Yugi," his father yelled.

"Y- Yes," Yugi replied as he jumped so high he almost hit the roof. Amethyst eyes slowly turned with the rest of his body to meet the eyes of his angry father.

"Don't _yes_ me you little brat," his father scolded. "I want you to answer me a simple question. If I told you this morning to take the living room rug and hang it outside to freshen it up, how come you didn't listen?"

"Because… I… umm… I forgot," Yugi lied. Never again would he bother his mother or father with his problems… not after what happened last time.

Yugi was instantly met with a fist in his shoulder. He fell backwards onto the floor and smacked his head against the kitchen drawer in the same place he had hit the tree. That wasn't the end though, his father came over and lifted Yugi by his hair, forcing his son to stand up or go bald.

"Now tell me Yugi," he father said sternly, "Are you going to listen to me the next time I tell you to do something?"

"Yes," Yugi cried. "I will! I will! I promise!"

"Good." After that Yugi was thrown into the wall leaving a mark not only on his forehead, but in the wall as well.

"Now look what you've done," his mother cried. "Yugi Muto you are a clumsy, idiotic, little ass! I just fixed that wall last week and now I have to do it again!"

Yugi's vision blurred. He could no longer tell if he was looking at the orange sweater of his mother or the auburn of a pumpkin.

His stomach was soon in pain due to the tip of his father's brown, lace up shoes kicking him there. "You should be looking your mother in the eye when she's talking to you," Yugi's father harshly informed.

Yugi's eyes rolled over to the beige blob above him. His eyes fighting to stay open.

"I want you in your bed sleeping by the time I count to fifteen," his mother ordered. "You hear me?"

Yugi nodded.

"One!"

Next Yugi's ear was nearly torn off as his mother used it as a hook to throw the young boy up the stairs.

"Two, three, four!"

Yugi instantly rushed down the hallway, stumbled into his room, threw off his socks and jumped into his bed.

"Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven!"

Yugi fixed his bed sheets then climbed under them. He rested his head on his pillow, closed his eyes and did his best to calm his heartbeat. It didn't help that he could hear his mother's horrible counting and her terrifying footsteps as they climbed the stairs.

"Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen! You had better be sleeping Yugi or I'm going to be really annoyed," she informed.

Yugi relaxed his body and did his best to ignore the sound of his door creaking open.

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**A/N: Hello everybody! I hope that this story will help you with your Dark Puzzleshipping cravings for now because I'm totally lost as to how the final chapter in The Darkest Wish is gonna work…**

**So as most of you know my Darkest Wish story is coming to a close. However there will be more afterwards, but that's not the point! I have read many of your amazing reviews and I just want to say a HUGE thank you! Not even a million cookies would be enough to summarize EVERYTHING! Another thing is that, when I really take the time to read your reviews, I can't help but to notice that everyone seems to really like Chapter One and Chapter Two of the Darkest Wish. So, I guess it's safe to say that that's where this fanfic comes from.**

**So hugs and thanks and cookies and ice cream to everyone out there that has ever taken the time to review any one of my stories. Thank you so very much!**


	2. Day Dream

**I seriously hope you guys listened to my warnings... xD**

**If you want to skip those certain parts then look for the *!**

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'What was that yesterday,' Yugi pondered as he stared; only paying half attention, at his teacher and the chalk board in front of him. He sighed as once again he couldn't stop thinking about the unfathomable, dark voice that had called out to him.

"Whatcha doing, idiot," Jounouchi whispered as he threw a ball of paper at Yugi's head.

"Huh," Yugi gasped as he looked around for the perpetrator who interrupted his dreamy state.

"I said, 'What are you doing,'" Jounouchi repeated with annoyance. This time he threw an eraser at Yugi.

"Leave me alone," Yugi grumbled and he turned his head to his desk.

"You can't tell me what to-!"

"Jounouchi, Muto, get outside now," the teacher, a skinny old hag with blond hair ordered.

Yugi stood up without a word and grumpily made his way to the front of the room. Once there he turned to the right and moped out into the hall. Jounouchi, however, thought it would be fun to walk across the desks then jump down on top of Anzu only to get smacked in the face once he had tried to squeeze her butt.

"I can see who the trouble maker is," the teacher groaned.

"Just you wait," Jounouchi taunted, "Once Miss. gets out here I'm gonna tell her every bad thing that you've ever done!"

"But I haven't done any-"

"Alright Muto, Jounouchi," the teacher called to get their attention. She shut the class room door then carried on with her lecture. "Let's get this over with. I don't want to hear a recap of what happened, I don't want to hear 'Oh, Yugi did this' or 'Jounouchi did that-'"

Yugi started gagging as a grovelling feeling appeared within the depths of his throat. He tried everything he could to force the slime out, but nothing more than air escaped his delicate lips.

"Are you okay Yugi," Jounouchi asked with fake concern.

"Why don't you take 'im down to the infirmary, Jounouchi? I'll come down when this class is over to take over for you."

Jounouchi smirked. "Sounds like a wonderful idea," Jounouchi falsely agreed.

Without another word, the teacher jumped back into class. Jounouchi ripped Yugi up from the ground and dragged him down the hall way. Yugi felt every last piece of skin on his wrist get rubbed off from Jounouchi's far from friendly grip, then every tenant in his arm get ripped.

"See ya' at the bottom," Jounouchi cackled as he shoved Yugi down the stairs.

'Why is it always me? Couldn't someone else get hurt for a change,' Yugi sobbed silently as the feeling of slime in his throat continued to bug him. He let out a ferocious cough once he stopped falling, but nothing would rid him of his gooey infection.

"You're not at the bottom yet," Jounouchi declared. He let his foot fly into Yugi's already throbbing gut. "Keep going," he added once Yugi refused to move. After another blow, Yugi coughed blood. Then after the next blow, Yugi's stomach lit up in flames. Then after one final and hard kick, Yugi's rib cage broke.

_**Yugi's scream, 'you ass hole!' was muffled into, "Yoahhole!" by all the blood he was choking on. But the words didn't come from him; they came from the poisoned slime that had now taken over Yugi's tongue.**_

"Oh shit," Jounouchi screamed once he realised what he had done. He quickly turned and fled down the stairs, but a surprise was waiting for him at the bottom. The doors had been replaced with two arms and everywhere else had become nothing but an endless darkness. Jounouchi screamed loudly, but no one heard him as the two arms took hold of his mouth and arms.

"_**Yugi," the voice caressed the young boy's ear.**_ Yugi felt the warm touch heat his numb body. His hands raised in mourn, mourn for a real love from somebody, mourn for someone who won't judge him, and mourn for eyes that wouldn't dare look disappointed.

'Who are you? …Am I dead?'

"_**I will never allow such a heinous act to come to pass." He responded to the second question. The first question would come to be answered in time. The shadowy figure slowly took Yugi's hands in his own, more built and muscular ones.**_

*** **Yugi felt the blood and slime in his mouth get cleaned away. Indeed there was something else that had penetrated Yugi's mouth and it felt unmistakably like tongue. The man who was kissing him had not only found Yugi's lips, but had also found his broken body. Yugi's hands were no longer being held; those invisible hands were now fixing Yugi's wounds and stroking away his pain.

Everything ended all too soon. Yugi found himself being rid of the cherry like taste of the stranger's mouth and of the warmth he had given him. His eyes slowly fluttered closed, but not before he watched the blood of the blond in front of him stain the stairway.

* * *

The ground suddenly seemed softer than before. Well, Yugi wasn't going to complain. Waking up to a scream less morning and a soft non-scratchy bed felt even better than heaven. Feeling a little cold, Yugi proceeded to snuggled up closer to the warmth coming from behind him. At this moment he couldn't have cared less as to what was making the heat, after all, Yugi was only dreaming, right?

'I never want to leave this moment,' Yugi thought, 'ever.'

A rich, enticing laughter reached the small boys ears. "Is my little one really that tired? Well, I wouldn't blame you; it has been a very long day."

Amethyst eyes shot wide open in fear. They scanned their surroundings in order to make a very quick analysis. Yugi was no longer at school; the voice was very close and lying directly behind him in the bed. A hand slithered over Yugi's arm making goose bumps appear all over his body. It slowly turned Yugi onto his back causing the teen to whimper in fear as his eyes fell apon crimson.

*** **"No need to be scared, little one," the dark voice left his lips like poison. He snuck himself on top of Yugi then slowly locked himself on top of the boy like a venomous snake coiling around its prey.

"Who are you," Yugi whispered as his mind began to lose itself in the blood of the man's eyes.

There was no answer.

Yugi's heart began to beat faster and louder and faster and louder…

With a small flick of his finger, the dark was able to fully catch Yugi's attention. Yugi followed the man, locked in his hypnosis, as he took him off the bed and into a pit of shadows. Yugi gasped as the man placed his hands around his stomach.

*** **"I- Ah… Wh- who are you?" Yugi whimpered again as the hands went slowly to the belt buckling his pants.

"I'll be the one who's going to protect you, I'll be your reason to live and I'll be your reason to love. I am the darkness that lives in your heart," he answered as a seductive whisper in Yugi's ear.

***** Yugi felt the belt come loose and go undone. Then another tiny jerk against his member was due to the dark's painfully slow tease as he undid the first button.

"I am the dark spirit that was born from the pain and suffering you have endured from birth. My name is Atem."

"Atem," Yugi repeated with a small purr.

***** "MmmHmm…" Atem hummed as he found the zipper.

***** Yugi's entire being shook with anticipation as a warm, smooth finger slipped down past the elastic of his boxers. The finger was then joined by an entire palm as it enthralled Yugi's member. Yugi's eyes found a home in the back of his head and an overjoyed moan filled the silent darkness. His moan grew louder as Atem's hand began to pump, then it began to knead and then it softly squeezed…

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**Yeah, so… A bit of luck for Yugi (xD) in this one and Atem has arrived! But, will he be able to come back, or was this all a dream? More coming soon!**


	3. Fear

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Yugi jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. He shoved his boots on, took his coat from its hanger and ran outside fast so that his parents wouldn't catch him. He marched down the street towards his school completely shocked and worried.

"What the hell am I doing to myself," Yugi thought aloud. "I'm letting myself hallucinate. I'm Yugi Muto, the weak and pathetic little boy from Domino High, after all someone has to be the punching bag. I'm not some cold hearted murderer!"

"_**But you could be, you would be and you will."**_

Yugi gasped and spun around. He was shocked to find nothing after hearing a voice whisper in his ear.

_**He chuckled. "I'm so glad I got through to you, Yugi. After all, I'm buried so deep within you that I was worried we'd never meet."**_

Yugi decided to just keep on walking. _He isn't real… _Yugi kept repeating to himself. He picked up his pace, but swore that he felt another presence manifesting inside of him. It was then that Yugi noticed someone was following him. He turned around just in time to be greeted by the twisted smile of Ushio.

"Good morning," Ushio cackled, "How are you, Yugi?" He said his name as though it were something foul.

"I'm fine, thanks," Yugi responded, yet to his horror it sounded like, "Piss off Ushio! I don't have time for your pathetic nonsense!"

"_What are you doing," Yugi panicked internally._

_**"Hush now Yugi. Sleep," **his inner dark hummed._

_With every moral fiber Yugi had, he knew that listening to that voice would cause him trouble. However, Yugi found himself curling onto his darkness' lap and quickly falling asleep._

_**"I knew you'd listen to me. It's just like you always have and it's just like you always will."**_

"Wanna say that to my face, little brat," Ushio questioned.

"Sorry,"Atem smirked, "I thought I was being clear. Allow me to speak in words you'll understand. Goo Goo Gaa Gaa!"

"I'll teach you to mock me," Ushio screamed. He drew his arm back and tightened his palm into a fist. Ushio delivered his most powerful punch to Atem's body, but something strange happened. Atem, instead of crying, instead of screaming, started laughing.

"Is that the best you can do?" Atem revealed that he had blocked Ushio's large hand with just his right palm. He then put both hands on top of Ushio's fist and used them to shove his way onto his arm.

"What the hell are you doing," Ushio questioned with fear.

Atem didn't reply as he ran up Ushio's arm to his shoulder. He then kicked off with his right leg but kept his left leg on Ushio's shoulder. This caused Atem to spin around and his right leg to kick Ushio in the back of his head.

Ushio toppled over just as Atem finally jumped off. The bully reached with his enormous hands to feel the back of his head. On inspection he felt a deep cut with blood gushing from it. "How the hell did you do that? You really are a freak, Yugi!"

Atem's grin faded into a deathly glare. "What did you say?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Ushio questioned. "I said you're a freak, Yugi!"

In a moment, all that was heard was Ushio's loud cry of pain as the bones in his arm snapped one by one. Atem turned on his heel to face Ushio, a demon's curled smile placed across his face. "I was gonna leave you here and finish you later, but now that you've really pissed me off..! I'm gonna kill you!"

Another scream ended Yugi's slumber, but when he awoke he sat in his desk at school. In front of him lay a completely finished test with his own name scribbled neatly at the top. 'I never did this,' Yugi thought, panicked, 'but that's my writing!'

"Times up! I don't care where you are on the test, please hand it in," came the teacher's call.

At first not even Yugi's mind responded to the task that was given him, but after a few seconds he found himself walking to the teacher's desk with the test in his shaking hand. Yugi placed the paper on top of the others with none less shaking than before. He took a deep breath to compose himself before returning to his seat.

'It's just… a really bad dream…' Yugi told himself, much to Atem's worry and amusement.

The bell rang causing Yugi to nearly jump out of his seat. He threw his things into his back pack then fled the room before anyone could stop him. Yugi only spared time to wave to his teacher before he was gone for good. He ran down the hall and up or down the stairs before reaching his locker. Though it was true he knew the school like the back of his hand he was too distracted to notice where he was going. That was also probably the reason why he had bumped into at least ten people throwing them half-hearted apologies before continuing to run.

'Stop panicking,' Yugi scolded himself, 'Just get to your locker, put away your stuff and get out of here!'

So that's what he did. Once Yugi got it open he put his back pack into his locker then took out his jacket. He threw on the sleeved and shoved the bottom of the zipper together. Yugi pulled against the zipper as hard as he could, but ended up cutting his index finger with the teeth.

"Ouch!" Yugi cried. He went to bring his finger to his lips when sudden warm hands stopped him. Yugi looked up into the eyes of Atem, instinctively gasping even though he had lost all feelings in his body due to his fear. "Y- You! Get away from me!" And Yugi took off with Atem chasing behind him.

"Stop Yugi," Atem called.

Yugi froze.

Atem walked up to him and took back his hold on Yugi's hands. "I'm not as bad as you think I am." Yugi cut healed. "I'm just here to protect you." Atem put his head on Yugi's shoulder, but with the sudden distraction Yugi never noticed two boys that slowly snuck up behind him.

They attacked.

Yugi collapsed.

Atem growled.

No more than an hour later, Yugi's vision returned. His eyes went wide in shock, his hands grew numb and his stomach flipped. His clothing was stained crimson from the blood of two students in front of him. Yugi was outside behind the school staring down at his own horrible handy work. Yugi had no idea how he got here, he wasn't even sure who the two boys were, but for some reason he had decided that they needed to be killed. Maybe they had tried to attack him or maybe it was because of all the strange lapses in his memory. If that was the case then how many other people had been killed?

"Did Ushio-?"

_**"Yes Yugi, Ushio is gone too," **Atem answered the unspoken question._

"_Why? You don't have to kill them!"_

_Atem's laughter unnerved Yugi. __**"I didn't have to kill them? Yugi, it's a common fact, kill or be killed! If someone comes to you and threatens your life, would you kill to live or suffer in silence until you die?"**_

"_Silence was working-!"_

_**"Well clearly it wasn't, otherwise I wouldn't be here, would I?"**_

Yugi felt Atem's arms wrap around his freezing body, bringing new warmth that he never thought possible and also silently apologizing for scaring him. Yugi took in a deep breath then exhaled. "I guess you're right."

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	4. Meet the Parents

**Sorry for not updating in a reaaaaalllly long time! I've been busy! Dx I discovered HichiIchi and millions of other fics were created... then I've got school and Yadayadayada...**

**Without further ado, heeeere's Johnny! Ahem... Chapter 4.**

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"Wha- What did I do," Yugi gasped aloud. His eyes rolled down to his hands where fresh blood dripped off his fingers. The young boy dropped to his knees and cried to the night sky. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?"

"_**Run home Yugi. Don't worry about your parents. I'll protect you."**_

Yugi's eyes shook with fear; his lips quivered from the cold touch, his teeth chattered from fright, yet… his entire body listened. Yugi's legs stood up from the cold ground. His arms moved in synch with his new walking rhythm. His darkness held the ropes and strung him along like a mindless puppet. With every step Yugi took he could feel his mind slowly slipping into a black drowsy state.

Yugi felt the heat of his house brush against his numb face as he entered the door. He silently took his shoes off and shut the door before making his way over to the stairs…

"You lazy slut," Yugi's mother shouted from the top. "This morning I told you to clean up the basement so that when I get home it would look brand new! Now it looks as though I'll have to do it myself because you ran off!"

The hypnotized boy wasn't listening, but a dark creature, the kind that was made of pure evil, was. It heard every word coming from the old women's mouth and was disgusted at every last one.

With fury and annoyance, Yugi's mother stomped down the stairs. She reached for Yugi's hair, lifted him from the floor and shouted, "Answer me you stupid little-!"

"_**I can get rid of them for you,"**_ the poisonous voice softly suggested.

Yugi, now shivering from the pain caused by his mother, slowly and softly whispered one word, "Please."

Crimson eyes floated in front of Yugi's mother. They glared hard and swarms of shadows and rage floated about within them. An ashy hand reached out from the invisible body and slowly manifested itself into a pale hand. It took Yugi's mother's arm and like acid, melted the skin from her bones. She let out a horrified scream and dropped Yugi. The figure caught the boy and laid him back down on the ground where he rested in oblivious peace.

"Bara!" Yugi's mother called up the stairs.

"What is it Kirai," Yugi's father, Bara called back. He was currently eating pie and reading a newspaper.

"My arm," Kirai screamed in pain. "Yugi's done something to it! Help me!"

"What?" In a flash, Bara was standing at the top of the stairs. In his hand was a newspaper and on his face were glasses that were slowly falling off his small nose. "What did he do, love?"

Kirai held out what was left of her arm. Skin slowly melted like wax and liquids poured from the burnt wound, bones were long time gone and her hand had fallen off.

"Guah!" Bara screamed with surprise. "How did he do that?"

Kirai was no longer able to answer as blood slowly poured out from her mouth. She fell to her knees then landed on her stomach, the sight leaving Bara in surprise. Her spine was visible and her entire back had been hallowed out. It looked as though someone had taken pumpkin carving to the extreme.

Now it was Bara's turn. He watched as his world was enveloped into pitch black darkness. He let out a fierce cry of pain when two hands punctured through his chest and wrapped around his face. His own arms began to betray him when they reached up to his neck and clawed it open.

Yugi's eyes watched with fear, the screams now waking him up, as his parents both dropped dead. He panted in fear of him being the next one to go and even more so when the crimson eyes turned to face him.

"_**Yugi,"**_ it sighed. It was strange how the voice said his name; it was all terrifying and somehow entrancing at the same time. _**"Come here Yugi."**_

Yugi instantly rose to his feet, ignoring the severe pain in his head as he did so. He reached an arm out towards the eyes, the pale face, the welcoming smile, the evil smirk.

The creature took Yugi's hand and intertwined it with his own. His eyes scanned the younger's body with a sinful delicacy.

"Who are you," Yugi asked, breaking the silence.

"_**I've answered that question before..."**_

"I want a real answer!"

"_**I am the darkness that lies within the deepest part of your being. You're pain and suffering has caused me to awaken and now I'm here to protect you."**_

"D- Darkness," Yugi questioned, "What d- do you m- mean?"

"_**I've already told you once before. Listen carefully. You have been disposed of as a friend since you were three, hated by your own parents since you were born and neglected by all society since you were able to take your first step. In your heart lies the deepest pit of misery and in your soul lays a longing for me."**_

"That," Yugi panted, "That's not true! I just want a friend! Someone I can talk to and that likes me for who I-"

"_**Yugi, if what I was saying wasn't true, then I wouldn't be standing here right now."**_ The figure's second hand reached out and rubbed Yugi's cheek. _**"No one understands how you feel and because of that no one can be your friend… no one but me."**_

"I'm not dark," Yugi continued to protest. He swatted away the figure's hand and turned away.

"_**Au contraire, little one."**_

Yugi gasped in astonishment as the same figure reappeared in front of him. He looked back over his shoulder only to find that nothing was there, the figure had gone from behind him to in front of him faster than Yugi could even blink.

"_**As I told you before..."**_

Yugi inhaled, eyes filled with fear, as he turned back to face the crimson eyed figure.

"_**If what I was saying wasn't true-"**_ The figure's body began to form. He gained the rest of his head, a chest, stomach, ears, hair, legs, feet… _**"-then I wouldn't be standing here right now. I wouldn't be able to breath, I wouldn't be able to live, you wouldn't be able to see me and you wouldn't be able to feel me."**_

Yugi was lost, swimming in a pool of fear, as he stared with horror at the sight in front of him. Black, pointed hair lined with blood red and streaks of gold, deadly eyes home to a burning crimson, thick, muscular arms, a black collar, dark leather and buckles… Yugi was looking into a darker more corrupted version of himself.

"_**Do you remember?"**_ the shadow asked.

A name slowly came to Yugi. He could remember it, the sweet name that belonged to his saviour, it was Atem.

"_**That's it Yugi, keep going."**_

Yugi could remember Jounouchi's defining scream as he was… murdered. He could remember the look on Atem's face when he had found Yugi hurt. It was Atem who had saved him, it was Atem that killed for him, it was Atem who cared for him and it didn't stop there. Atem loved Yugi. Yugi could remember the bed, the warmth he felt from the dark, the way his fingers...

Atem smirked.

Yugi pushed his head though Atem's arms. He snuggled himself under Atem's chin and wrapped his arms greedily around his waist.

"_**Let me protect you, let me be with you forever. Can you do that?"**_ Atem questioned.

Yugi nodded and buried his face in Atem's stomach.

Atem smirked. _**"Those who hurt you shall never know what hit them,"**_ he promised.


	5. Now and Forever there will be Hope

Yugi's arm was the only thing supporting his head when he woke up. Curious and weak, his eyes spun around the room only to find it completely empty.

"Where am I," Yugi asked is a wheezy voice. He was surprised to find that his voice was weaker than his eyes.

"You're somewhere safe, Yugi."

The voice wasn't in Yugi's head anymore. It was clear. It was coming from somewhere solid. It was coming from behind him.

"Hello Yugi," Atem smiled. He chuckled, "Long time no see, eh?"

"You… killed my parents. You killed Jounouchi and those other boys too!"

"There is no 'you' anymore Yugi. We killed. Those people hurt us, and so _we_ killed," Atem interrupted.

Yugi stared off into the black. "I don't know. My heart and my head can't come to a decision. I know what you're telling me is true, but I just can't seem to believe it."

"I know that when you first hear things they can sound strange, but-"

"I don't think it sounds strange," Yugi interrupted. "I don't think it sounds bad, or horrible or even terrifying." He smiled. "I think it sounds too good to be true and I'm scared that I'm dreaming."

Atem took Yugi's chin and tilted his head so the two were looking into each other's eyes.

For a while they both just stared, looking at each other as if it were the first time.

They both looked a lot alike, but also very different. Yugi's hair was black, tipped in violet, and though it did defy gravity it always seemed to droop when it came to his blond bangs. Atem's hair was also black, but the tips had been drenched in blood. His blond bangs stood out on one side, almost distaining gravity, and ran up into his hair, three lightning bolts among the black. Yugi's features were soft, babyish, his eyes rounded and blessed with soft violet. Atem's features were sharper, if not older. His eyes were angular and seemingly always angry. Their colour was a deep, but almost icy, red. Yugi was short and slim, almost mistaken to be eleven or twelve. Atem was much taller, topping Yugi by at least a foot, and lean, his body bearing smooth, hard muscle.

Yugi lifted up a hand to gently touch Atem's face. "You really will be with me forever, won't you?"

Atem nodded and coiled his arms around Yugi. He rested his head in Yugi's hair, calmly and unnoticeably taking in the scent of the smaller. "Whenever you're sick, whenever you're tired, whenever you're hungry and whenever you're thirsty. Whenever you're lonely and whenever you're sad, I will always be with you. I won't let you die; I won't let you get hurt. Even when you're sick of me and wish that I would just leave, I will always be by your side." There was slight humour in his voice.

Yugi gave off a faint giggle which sounded more like "Hahmm" then an actual laugh. But to Atem, it was like music in his ears.

"Yugi, if I show you something, will you promise not to get scared?"

"Okay," Yugi replied. Though his heart had started beating faster, Yugi had truly not gained any more fear than he already had.

"I want you to take a look in the mirror."

It was an odd request, but Yugi listened nonetheless. He turned around to face a mirror that he hadn't noticed apon arrival. As Yugi focused more on his reflection then on the mirror itself, his eyes could only widen in surprise. The innocence in his amethyst eyes were slowly being overtaken by a darker shade of red. His eyes were still round, but they didn't have the same babyish look to them as they used to. Yugi had grown ever so slightly, just enough to notice but not enough to come close to Atem's height. Then there was his smile. Yugi's sweet little shy smile was being dominated by a blood lusted smirk.

"W- What's happening to m- me," Yugi questioned. He re-examined his hair to find that the tips were slowly being overrun by crimson, just like his eyes.

"Just a slight change, no need to worry," Atem calmed. "What you see now is pretty much all the change you'll ever see. Soon you'll gain a bit more muscle though."

"I- I know I p- promised… b- but I'm scared!" Yugi turned back around so that he could hug Atem again.

Atem could feel the fear coming off of Yugi's skin as though he were the sun giving off heat. Atem's hands instinctively moved to Yugi's back and performed a kind of massage. His fingers traced random, invisible lines up and down Yugi's back until the boy's worry had been soothed.

"Thanks," Yugi breathed. He snuggled his head onto on of Atem's arms and rested it there.

"Are you sure, Yugi, that you're ready?"

Yugi swallowed away the last of his fear, and smiled. "I'm alright."

"Good. Then I'll make a promise too. I promise to protect you...

**Now and forever.**

**You have hope.**

**I will never leave you.**

**Yugi.**

* * *

I'll admit... I kinda got writers block and needed to finish this one... so, even though this isn't the ending I'd like, it's the best I can do.


End file.
